


try my best

by EmeraldTulip



Category: High School Musical: The Musical: The Series (TV)
Genre: Established Relationship, Love Confessions, M/M, Pet Names, Post episode 10, Post-Canon, Short Circuiting Carlos Rodriguez, Speculation, Young Love, denny's is where the theater kids hang out I see you I see you, hellllll yeah I want my seblos content!!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-31
Updated: 2019-12-31
Packaged: 2021-02-27 13:00:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,395
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22057432
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EmeraldTulip/pseuds/EmeraldTulip
Summary: Under the table, Seb’s pinky nudges his, settled on top of the cracked vinyl, and Carlos feels a little grin force its way onto his lips. He aquieces, letting Seb curl their pinkies together, and catches Seb smiling too.They've taken their final bows, and there has never been a more perfect time for a moment alone.
Relationships: Carlos/Seb Matthew-Smith
Comments: 11
Kudos: 80





	try my best

**Author's Note:**

> can you tell I really miss seblos? im on a ROLL dude  
> so this is set after their final performance, and like any self-respecting theater kids, their cast party is at denny's because of course.  
> plus, the title is another lyric from Olivia's song All I Want, because I am SERIOUS its a bop  
> thanks to the hsmtmts discord for some help editing. I hope everyone enjoys, and have a happy new year!

They all pile into two booths, shouting over each other, and Carlos is  _ so _ sure they’re going to get kicked out.

“Ow! Ricky!” Ashlyn shrieks, squirming away from his pointy elbow. “Kourt, protect me!”

Kourtney does, smacking Ricky away and shooing him over to the seat across from Carlos and Seb, against the window.

“It was an accident!” Ricky insists, rolling his eyes when Kourtney ignores him. He turns his attention to the two boys across the table. “So, is this, like, a theater thing?”

Seb nods, excited, and Carlos just listens as he explains to Ricky the universal tradition of having a cast party at Denny’s after the final bow. “They don’t do it in cities, though,” Seb says, almost to himself. “Because apparently Denny’s doesn’t exist in cities or something? I don’t know. Anyway—”

Under the table, Seb’s pinky nudges his, settled on top of the cracked vinyl, and Carlos feels a little grin force its way onto his lips. He aquieces, letting Seb curl their pinkies together, and catches Seb smiling too.

Ricky, clueless as he is, notices nothing, but Carlos can see Big Red and Nini staring at them from their seats on the aisle end of the table. He catches Big Red’s eye and Red glances away quickly, flustered at being caught, but Nini stares right back at him. She even raises an eyebrow, almost a challenge:  _ it’s your move, what are you gonna do about it? _

Nini has always been encouraging in the weirdest way.

Suddenly emboldened, Carlos loosens their pinky lock in favor of flipping his hand and firmly grasping Seb’s. Seb’s grin widens, almost imperceptibly, and Nini snorts something under her breath that Carlos thinks was  _ ugh, boys. _ He can’t be sure over the sound of EJ and Rico loudly debating in the next booth over.

* * *

Seb’s eyes are bright despite the dark sky, and Carlos keeps stealing little glances over at him. He can’t help himself.

“See you guys tomorrow!” Nini waves as she and Kourtney head to her car, still clutching her playbill.

Carlos waves back before moving his hand to sit on the small of Seb’s back, steering him to the other side of the parking lot. Denny’s is really crowded tonight, for some reason, but they couldn’t  _ not _ have a cast party there after closing night. He pulls his keys from his pocket and clicks it, laughing a little when Seb jumps at the sound of the car beeping.

“Shut up,” Seb blushes when he sees Carlos’s grin.

Carlos does, happily, because not talking means he gets to take in Seb’s shadowed face a little better. Though the stage makeup is long gone, there are still traces of pink on the side of his face and some glitter in his hair. It gives Carlos a little bit of cognitive dissonance, to see glimpses of Seb’s Sharpay look combined with his denim jacket and dusty sneakers. But he looks good. He always looks good.

He opens the passenger-side door for Seb before walking around the front of the car and clambering into the driver’s seat. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but thank god it’s over.”

“And on to the next one!” Seb jokes, laughing when Carlos groans and lets his head hit the steering wheel.

“Please, love, give me a few days to process this before throwing me into the next show,” Carlos complains, Seb patting his shoulder mock-soothingly.

“I’m only teasing,” he assures. “I’m guessing you can’t say what the spring show is, right? That would be some favoritism stuff.”

Carlos sits back in his seat. “That’s right, I can’t. Mostly because I haven’t even started thinking about it.” Distantly, he wonders if he will tell Seb once he chooses the show. A little favoritism never hurt anybody, right? He twists the key in the ignition and pulls out of the parking lot, making a rude gesture at Ricky when he races past them on his skateboard over to Ashlyn’s car. Ricky just gives him a thumbs up.

Seb holds back a grin. “If he gets the lead again, he’s going to be insufferable.”

“You don’t have to tell  _ me _ that.”

Seb fiddles with the radio for a couple minutes before giving up and switching it off. “So…”

Carlos takes his eyes off the road for a moment to glance at him. “So?”

“How was the show?” Seb seems to realize it’s a strange question as soon as he asks it and rushes to elaborate. “I mean, what did it look like, not from the stage?”

“It looked amazing,” Carlos says honestly. “ _ You _ looked amazing. You  _ were _ amazing. Your voice? Oh my god, Seb, you killed it.”

Seb blushes a little, and Carlos can’t help but feel a little pleased. “Well, it was closing night, I wanted it to be good. I tried my best.”

“You don’t have to worry about that,” Carlos laughs, blindly reaching with his right hand until Seb grabs it and intertwines their fingers. “It was all amazing.”

Seb squeezes. “Thanks, Carlos.” He giggles a little. “I think our private lessons were a good idea.”

“For the show, or…?”  _ For us, _ he wants to say, but on the off chance Seb is just talking about the show, he doesn’t.

“Both,” Seb shrugs, and he seems to have heard the unspoken. “I mean, I never knew I could dance half as well as you taught me to, and this show has been the best experience of my life. And, you know, I get to hold your hand now, which is… nice.  _ Really _ nice.” He taps a finger on top of Carlos’s as if to emphasize his point.

“Seb,” Carlos says seriously, “I am going to kiss you.”

“We’re still driving—”

Carlos jerks the wheel and they stop on the service road. It’s deserted, because Utah, so Carlos feels no hesitation when he unbuckles his seatbelt and turns to face Seb. “Now we’re not.”

Seb’s fingers jitter against Carlos’s palm. “Oh-okay.”

Carlos can hear the grin in his voice, but he would rather feel it, so he leans over the dashboard and kisses Seb firmly, one hand making its way up to Seb’s cheek and the other breaking from his grip to land on his shoulder. Seb shifts forward too, tilting his head to make the angle better, his hands on Carlos’s collar until they run out of air and he pulls back.

Seb’s stage hairspray has truly done its work, keeping the glitter in his hair for a lot longer than just the show, but now a couple of blond strands are falling out of place and onto his forehead. Carlos brushes them back, because he can, and he likes the shade of pink that blossoms on Seb’s face. Seb himself reaches out and straightens the lapels of Carlos’s suit—he thinks he looks great, and he’s not in a costume, why should he change just to go to Denny’s?—smoothing out a few wrinkles that have formed.

“That was—you’re—” Seb stutters for a minute before composing himself, grasping his hand. “I love you,” he offers, finally.

Carlos feels his breath catch in his throat, and Seb immediately looks a little panicked.

“You don’t—you don’t have to say it back!” he says quickly. “You don’t have to say anything, at all, I just… needed you to know.”

“No, no, it’s—” Carlos frees his hand from Seb’s grip so he can press both fists into his eyes, his wrists blocking Seb’s view of his stupid smile. “This is so dumb, hang on, I’m trying, I’m just… really happy.” He takes a breath and holds out his hand for Seb again. Seb, of course, takes it. “I love you, too,” Carlos tells him, and Seb beams.

This kiss is a little less precise—more of smiles pressing together than anything else—but Carlos can’t bring himself to care. It takes them a few moments to settle back into an actual kiss, but once they do Carlos feels Seb relaxing under his palms, and Carlos thinks he could stay here forever. Though—

“We probably should keep driving,” Carlos says reluctantly when they break apart, their foreheads pressed together. “On the off chance the police come by. Or a serial killer.”

Seb grimaces. “Wow, thank you for that thought.”

Carlos laughs, steals another kiss, and then turns back to the road.

**Author's Note:**

> comments and kudos are, as always, appreciated.  
> find me on tumblr, my main is [@perseusjaxon](https://perseusjaxon.tumblr.com) and my hsmtmts blog is [@rinaseblos](https://rinaseblos.tumblr.com)!


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